I partially agree with what the experts had to say about this case. I do not think that it is necessarily true that “Elizabeth would be better off taking her talents to an employer that will appreciate them”. Changing jobs is a big life decision and I believe that there would be far more uncertainty for Elizabeth in her new job than in her current position. It is certainly true that Elizabeth is being taken for granted to a certain extent, and her manager could make efforts to treat her better. However, at the same time, there is no guarantee that her new job would solve all of her problems and advance her career in the same way as her current role.
I believe that Wendi Lazar’s statement that “Elizabeth isn’t in the right state of mind to make a decision that will alter her career” is absolutely correct. Her split with Brad is still fresh on her mind and although she is rightfully upset about how she has been treated at work, I think it is worth taking some additional time to think about her situation and seeing if things get better. Her current position seems like the best possible option for her at the moment from a salary and career perspective and because of that, she may be doing her future self a big favor by making an effort to stick it out for a little while longer until she either finds a better job or is absolutely certain that change is necessary.
If I was a manager finding out about this, I would first make sure that Elizabeth had the resources she needed to deal with the situation. In this case, I would imagine that connecting her with HR is the best way to handle it, as I am not sure what else can realistically be offered to her. The situation is tricky because as a manager my job is to support all of my employees and make sure that they are doing what needs to be done to help the company move forward. This means that I can’t necessarily give Elizabeth special treatment, but I would certainly avoid sending her on a small group trip with B+C as this could be very harmful to Elizabeth’s mental health.
